Wellard welcomes new substantial shareholder to its register

Wellard Limited (Wellard, ASX:WLD) welcomes the decision by one of Australia’s largest cattle producers, Heytesbury Pty Ltd, to purchase a significant shareholding in Wellard.

Heytesbury, which is owned by Paul Holmes à Court, lodged a substantial shareholder notice with the ASX today, indicating it had acquired 9.57 per cent of Wellard shares.

“It was welcome news to see such a highly respected businessman with direct and relevant sector experience and investment in beef cattle choosing to invest in Wellard,” said Wellard CEO Mauro Balzarini.

“Heytesbury Cattle Co has supplied Wellard with cattle for a long time, so its management has a strong understanding of both the Wellard business and the opportunities available to it.”

Heytesbury Cattle Co. owns six stations spanning 2.5 million hectares across the Northern Territory and eastern Kimberley region of WA. Among these is the famed Victoria River Downs, which was established in 1883. It runs 160,000 cattle, in total.

Wellard is Australia’s largest cattle exporter and a vertically integrated agribusiness.

Wellard has supplied quality dairy and beef cattle and sheep and goats to the world for more than 30 years. Based in Fremantle, Western Australia, the company’s operations spans the world and cover every aspect of the livestock export chain, including livestock selection and aggregation, pre export quarantine facilities, feed milling, and a modern fleet of specialized “floating farms livestock carriers”.

Wellard is also involved in the trade of lamb, mutton and goat meat. It owns and operates a modern abattoir in Western Australia, Beaufort River Meats, which processes up to 2500 sheep and lambs a day, enabling Wellard to meet customer demand for both livestock and chilled meat.